Stotfold Winter Series 16.12.12

Hi yah all,
a very damp and wet morning here at Stotfold track. A venue voted for the 2013 National series so practice here very important in all conditions. After all we never know what the British weather will bring at any time of year.
A personal memorable day for me as the 16th of December some 22 years ago was the day my farther past away.
Miss you Dad even after all these years.

The rain has been coming down on the Stotfold area for some days now and the track really was not fit to race on.
Kev Lee, David Poulter keen as ever put the gazebos up and were keen to say the least.
The Stotfold members and committee personnel were on the track with hoovers, brooms and all sorts trying to get rid of the water.
After some time as if some miracle the lads sorted the track and open practice commenced. A really grand job and that is an understament.

Round 1

Kev Lee driving his RB6 Kyosho took round 1 running a prototype tray accommodating shorty Lipos so i suppose watch this space for the future. John Spencer last winter series winner at Stotfold, came in 2nd and then a close affair by everyone else. I came in 5th and was sort of happy with that especially as I have been testing various set ups too.

Round 2

The track getting washed off on the racing line i thought the grip was higher in round 2.
John Spencer steps up and takes round 2 from David Poulter that had a clean run.
Kev Lee came in 3rd with David Orbell in 4th. I tried hard but my changes were not good and i came in 7th in round.

Round 3

Well trying things over the winter certainly gives the right set ups for when the right time comes.
Nationals, regionals and of course all the other major events. I went back to my original testing set up with some minor changes.
I have to say that more or less all the drivers at the sharp end made errors and this is why I was extremely annoyed with myself. Knowing that i had a strong possibility to TQ the round i was just driving neat and tidy until i turn it into the pipe. Something that i did not do all day and the 6 sec error certainly cost me the TQ and down to 5th in round – I couldn’t find a punch bag anywhere! er!!! 🙁
Kev Lee took the round from David Poulter 2nd in round again…….

Round 4 and Overall Qualifying

OK round 4 is here and we need a result….lol
I must say I thought the track actually got a little slippery in this round but the car certainly felt good.
Kev Lee put the hammer down in the round and was pushing on very strong. David Poulter was again on for 2nd in the round and i knew I was there or there abouts as i was having a clean run.
I decided with a couple of laps to go not to bin it and bring it in for what it was and ended up 3rd in round behind Kev and David. Kyosho 1st 2nd and 3rd was sort of OK to me 🙂
Ended level on points with Kit Jones but Kit took forth with a faster run of less than a second.
Kev TQed from John and David

4wd Racing

On the same day there was some very quick driving in the 4wd event with Ellis Stafford being the class of the field. Trish Neil driving his K1 was also driving well and was 2nd on the grid
I must say the 4wd cars certainly looked a lot easier to drive in the slippery conditions

Kev Lee and his RB6

As you can see here, Kev was testing the shorty Orion Lipo with a prototype shorty holder allowing weight and ballast movement around the car. This is something the Kyosho Team are currently testing

2wd Final

The track was certainly now greasy. None of the front runners run new tyres and therefore the conditions were lets just say, tricky. Off we went and I really thought my changes to my RB6 and the last minute switch to small bore shocks were generating real good grip.
As many know now we have been testing bid bores to small bores often and the often change is giving us valuable information in what works best at what time.
I quickly overtook Kit that just got his car out of shape when trying to lay the power down. I got up to David and as he was also fighting for traction I blasted by and had mad visions is setting off after John and Kev. I could see Kev had a good lead and John really wasn’t too many corners ahead. I really didn’t have the speed to go that much quicker so I had to sort of settle and hope for mistakes from the 2 lads ahead. The mistake came and of course not knowing who or what in front I just knew I had to keep it on its wheels for the possibility. Kev and John went over the line together and looking at the final results sheet, John took it from Kev by 0.22 of a sec with myself 5.5 sec behind.